Castle Cary is probably only known by travellers to Glastonbury and Somerset and then only for its railway station. I visited the town a couple of days ago to research a new history project about King Charles II. I failed to find any of the buildings I was looking for, being long ago demolished but did enjoy my walk, and discovering Picasso in one of the gallery windows.

Yes, Picasso. Regular readers of this blog will know I enjoy Picasso’s “Pony-tail” phase and his paintings of Sylvette David, from Vallauris in the South of France in 1954. They will also know that Sylvette, after moving to Devon in England became a very accomplished painter in her own right as Lydia Corbett. One of our very first pieces of serious art was Sylvette’s Memories by Corbett, which we bought from Francis Kyle’s London Gallery in 2004. Imagine my surprise then on passing the window of David Simon Contemporary and coming across Memories of Vallauris with her classic blue colouration and charcoal. David Simon was working at Francis Kyle’s back in 2004 and remembers the exhibition. He has since opened a gallery of his own in Bristol before setting up in Castle Cary.

Lydia Corbett at 90 is the subject of the latest exhibition at David Simon Contemporary. Her medium is now mainly oil paint and features paintings which evoke the memory of Picasso as well as some that are of her own genre. She is no longer painting the water colour and ink works on paper but there are a number of earlier ones in the exhibition. As well as the familiar collection of paintings in water colour and oil there is an exhibition of ceramic works which is a collaboration with her daughter, Alice. This collaboration started during the 2020 pandemic and the collection here is the second major show.

As well as the work of Lydia Corbett There are a number of original drawings on paper by Picasso giving the exhibition a very rounded feeling and a juxtaposition with the warmth of colours created by Corbett. The artist is giving a talk at the gallery on 22nd November and we hope to see her for the first time for a number of years.

Lydia Corbett at 90 is at David Simon Contemporary in Castle Cary, Somerset until 30th November.

Images except Sylvette’s Memories and street view with the permission of David Simon Contemporary